


Mentor

by Avirra



Series: An Unholy Alliance [13]
Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies), Star Trek: Mirror Universe
Genre: Gen, Mirror Universe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-25
Updated: 2013-07-25
Packaged: 2017-12-21 07:02:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,603
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/897276
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Avirra/pseuds/Avirra
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Pike and Kirk have a private talk about plans for the future.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Mentor

**Author's Note:**

> As a note, in my version of the Mirror-verse, the emphasis is on political maneuvering and manipulation rather than on violence and sex - though violence and sex are both certainly have their places (nothing overly graphic). Think in terms of more Machiavelli and less Caligula. Some cursing is also present.

Pike stopped walking as they reached the other side of the campus.

"Wait here for a moment, James. I won't be long."

Hand clasped behind him, Pike strolled briskly into a nearby building that Kirk recognized as being one where most of the instructors had their offices. It really wasn't more than three or four minutes before Pike came back out again carrying an oddly shaped package. Neither commented on it as they continued on their way. Cadets were scattering ahead of them as they entered the building, to Pike's great amusement. He added to the general chaos when he spoke loud enough to be easily overheard.

"I think while I'm here, I might hold a few other surprise inspections in addition to the one of your quarters, Cadet Kirk."

In a matter of seconds, not another cadet was in sight. Kirk was having a hard time keeping a straight face as he opened the door to his room and Pike walked past him as if he owned the place. Once the door was shut behind them, Pike made his way to the table and sat down the package.

"Before we begin, you should know that I'm removing Leonard from the hospital rotation while he's still a cadet. Before you voice any objections, this is to punish the Medical staff - they were told upfront by me that I would allow them to make use of Leonard's medical degrees only if it didn't interfere with the real reason he's here. They broke their end of the deal which means that now, they will only be able to access Leonard's talents through a direct request to me - which I will deny each and every time unless it is a real emergency in Leonard's line of expertise. And trust me when I say that Doctor Puri will be tearing into the supervisors for using a fully qualified surgeon to perform tasks that someone with little to no medical training could have handled."

Kirk just shrugged. The fact that the Medical staff had it in for McCoy wasn't exactly news to him.

"Bones told me that from the start that they'd be out to make him fail. It seems to be well enough known that the Academy Medical team eats anyone with talent unless they have plenty of money or plenty of connections."

As he began to open the package, Pike gave a short nod.

"Doctor Puri's been arguing that point with the Admiralty for a few years now. Sure, we want and need the best out in the Fleet, but that shouldn't mean that the Academy gets the worst of the worst. Hell, ship them out to the penal colonies. Raj wants to see the staff here be the ones that are decent and still have a shot at improving or those who are good enough to be in the black, but whose ships aren't ready yet. Leonard's already better than some of the docs out there. He just lacks experience with how things are done on a starship. He'll pick that up fast if his test scores in classes he's never touched before are any indicator."

Pike paused. Taking out his personal communicator again, Pike made an adjustment to it before setting it down and returning to the package, lifting out an ornate bottle filled with a sapphire colored liquid.

"There. While I don't imagine that there are too many individuals foolhardy enough to attempt eavesdropping on me, I have in the past been reminded that some people have an endless capacity for stupidity and learned to take precautions. I've just jammed any attempts at listening in by other methods."

Lifting up the bottle, Pike gave Kirk a speculative glance.

"Ever heard of Romulan Ale, James?"

"Heard of, but never - wait. Is that what that is? That stuff is rumored to cost a fortune."

"Only because only a select few can buy it legally. One advantage of being in Starfleet, James."

Opening the bottle, Pike reached back into the package and pulled out two small glasses. He poured one three-quarters full, one half-full and offered the half-full one to Kirk. Kirk eyed the blue liquid, then looked back up to Pike.

"This as potent as I've heard it is?"

"It is."

Pike took a small sip from his own glass then moved to take a seat.

"The Empire has problems, James. What is happening at Medical is just a sample of what is currently happening throughout the Empire. The Admiralty is filled with pompous yes-men past their prime who seem to take their only pleasures from trying to make sure that the current crop of Captains never get the chance to outshine their own deeds. The Enterprise is being built in spite of them because the Emperor still has dreams of expansion."

Pike swirled the liquid in his glass before taking another sip.

"One day, James - maybe sooner than you think - there will be an implosion. Or possibly a collapse. When that happens, the only power of any worth is going to be in the hands of the Captains of the Fleet. With the Enterprise at my command, I'll be a force to be reckoned with. There is no ship in the black that will be able to outrun, outmaneuver or outgun her."

As Pike was speaking, Kirk discretely took out the small device McCoy had finally been able to make for him and scanned the glass. The scan showed clear so Kirk took as small a sip of the drink as he could manage, but still sputtered slightly at the burn of the potent drink. When he was finally able to speak again, he watched Pike carefully.

"You know what you said could be taken as treason."

A snort followed by laughter came from Pike.

"Of course I know. Why the hell else do you think I was taking precautions, James? Speaking of which, what was that you ran over your drink?"

Caught, Kirk saw no reason for denying any thing.

"An invention that Bones came up with. It detects if a drink has been tampered with."

"Really? May I see it?"

Knowing that a request from Pike might as well be an order, Kirk handed it over. Pike looked around the room until he spotted another glass and poured a small amount of the ale into it before pulling out something else and dropping it into the glass before swirling the liquid around. The ale looked the same as before, but when Pike used the scanner on it, he laughed.

"Clever, clever boy. No wonder Raj has kept his eye on that one. I wonder if making this was a lucky quirk?"

"It wasn't. I saw him using his and asked him to make one for me."

Pike disposed of the altered drink, then gave the device back to Kirk.

"I'd like to get a pair of those myself."

A faint smile formed as Kirk thought that over before speaking.

"I'm sure Bones would be willing for the right price."

Bemused by the amount of pure gall Kirk had, Pike chuckled.

"The right price, eh?"

Giving a shrug, Kirk ventured to take another small sip.

"You know his financial situation as well as I do, sir. Other than the clothes I bought him with that credit chip you left us, he still doesn't have anything but what he was wearing when he got here and the uniforms he was issued."

Pike's expression cleared as if he suddenly recalled something he had forgotten.

"Ah yes, that's right. His ex has everything."

The way Pike phrased that drew Kirk's notice.

"Has? Wait - that harpy is still alive?"

"She is both alive and living quite well on everything she took from him."

Kirk found himself feeling disappointed and blurted out.

"As many different poisons as he knows?"

Chuckling, Pike shook his head.

"Take that as proof that Leonard has the good sense to bide his time. His ex is from the family that has all of the political clout there. I looked into it - all the law enforcement, including judges, are related to her. As is everyone in an elected position. I don't think you'll have to strain your imagination too much to realize that all the appointed positions have gone to her relatives as well. That's why Leonard's father arranged the marriage - to move his family into a higher social bracket."

"And Bones agreed to that?"

"His father made it a condition for getting Leonard into the fast-track for Medical school. Plus, he was young and she was - and is - stunningly beautiful. She's also ruthless, but not particularly wise. From what I've been able to piece together, she decided that being a surgeon's wife wasn't glamorous enough and wanted to move on. But she wanted to take everything with her and with relatives all willing to go along with her claims against him for a piece of the pie?"

Pike took another sip before continuing.

"Oh, she's made a lifetime enemy out of Leonard, have no doubts about that. Now that he's out of the reach of her family, I doubt she's sleeping very well. Three of her lovers died in extremely nasty ways before Leonard was tossed into jail. Nasty, but untraceable. Raj has no doubts that was Leonard's talented hands behind those."

Pike focused his attention back on Kirk.

"I don't understand the dynamics between you and Leonard, but I don't need to know the particulars. It's the results that matter. As you've seen, it's a mixed blessing to be considered a power to be reckoned with on the Academy campus. Some are like me, of the opinion that you don't waste good. Others will just wipe out anything that they consider makes them look bad. You'll find that if you study the real history of the Empire, that latter group make meteoric rises - and have equally meteoric falls because they don't have the skills or the support to maintain their height when they hit it."

"Those are the ones that are held up as exemplars for us."

Another snort erupted from Pike at that observation.

"Of course they are. You really think the old men hanging onto the threads of the Empire want a lot of young bucks making their own supports? Building their own power bases? Too dangerous so far as they're concerned. That's what wrong with the Empire, James. Stagnation. The Emperor has allowed the ministers to assume too much power and they've shifted their goals from going out and getting more to guarding and preserving what they already have. The shift began when the Emperor lost the one of his core group that had been a shaker and who also happened to have been the only one of the sitting ministers that had that balls to tell the Emperor when he was being an idiot."

The look Kirk gave Pike bordered on incredulous.

"He would tell the Emperor to his face that he was an idiot? And the Emperor didn't kill him himself?"

"James, never underestimate the value of someone who's not afraid to call you out on a possible bad decision. No-one is infallible. After Michaels died, all the Emperor had left were yes-men. All that yes-men are good for is to swell egos. A trained parrot could do the same job and cost a lot less."

Kirk couldn't help a snicker at the image of the Emperor walking around with a parrot on each shoulder.

"Alright, I admit I can see the advantage to having a few around me that won't just say what they think I want to hear. I can't imagine Bones ever saying anything just because someone wants to hear it. He's a contrary bastard."

"My advice is to keep him that way and to ignore any suggestions from others to put a leash on him. I'm sure he'll give you a bad moment or two, but you're a big boy. You can take it."

"Does Doctor Puri do that for you?"

"Raj keeps me healthy and makes sure my feet are firmly planted in reality even when I occasionally wish he'd just shut up the hell up and let me enjoy the moment. He's right though. The bootlickers can distract you far more than you think they would be able to because we're all vain creatures deep inside that like being told we can do no wrong."

What little Romulan Ale Kirk had already ingested had already given him a buzz, so he held the drink and studied it instead of taking another sip. He wanted his wits about him while he was alone in a room with Pike.

"If you don't mine my asking, sir - what is this about?"

"This is about the future, James. Power bases. I'm doing my best to keep the Empire and the Academy intact right now because of one thing - the Enterprise. I want her finished and in the black before anything happens. Now that you've proven to me that all your brains didn't turn into corn pudding, I'm ready to make you an offer. You have the intellect, the instincts and the raw talent to be a Captain of your own ship, but you need to learn how to direct that manic energy of yours. I'm willing to mentor you - hone you to a razor's edge."

The wariness that went all the way to the marrow of Kirk's bones came to the forefront again.

"Why? What's in this for you?"

Pike gave Kirk an approving smile.

"Very good, lad. No-one ever does anything for nothing. Remember why I said the ones that wipe out talent to elevate themselves fall?"

With a slow nod as he began to see where this might be headed, Kirk answered.

"They have nothing to support themselves with - not real skills or allies."

"Precisely. You could be as good - possibly better - than I am. I have my sights set beyond the Enterprise, but for my end goals to come to fruition, I'll need someone I know intimately and can trust to be ready to take her helm. Are you following this?"

Kirk's eyes flashed back down to the communicator unit to make sure the jamming was still active.

"I believe so, sir. You plan to be in the Captain's chair of the Enterprise when the Empire caves in on itself, then you're planning on stepping into the power void that the Emperor will be leaving behind - with me on the Enterprise being the muscle to back your position."

"Bravo. You summed that up nicely, James."

"And where you go, Doctor Puri goes?"

"Raj has already confirmed to me that he will be quite content to be the private physician to the Emperor - which will leave the position of CMO open for Leonard."

There were quite a number of far less savory things that Kirk would have been willing to do to put himself within reach of the command chair of the Enterprise. He would have to add Pike's enemies to the list of his own, but that was a small price to pay so far as he was concerned.

"I can't speak for McCoy, but consider me onboard, sir."

Pike chuckled again.

"I think you can speak for McCoy. He's already accepted you as his leader whether you've recognized that or not."

The half-smirk reappeared on Kirk's face as he reviewed that statement. It was true - Bones groused and grumbled, but in the end, he would do what he was asked to do. Kirk lifted up the ale and took another sip before speaking.

"In that case, consider us both onboard, sir."


End file.
